England strode to a comfortable victory over Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the first Test in Galle to win by 211 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Dimuth Karunaratne (26) and Kaushal Silva (30) passed 50 without loss after resuming their innings in the morning, after which Dhananjaya de Silva scored 21 off 44 balls, but all three batters were back in the hut with the score under 100.
Angelo Mathews (53 off 92 balls) and Kusal Mendis (45 off 77) added 46 for the fourth wicket as the last real form of resistance, with Mathews surviving until the 69th over, when he was caught by Jos Buttler off Moeen Ali to leave Sri Lanka on 190-6.
Dilruwan Perera offered some late resistance in scoring 30 off 49 balls (three fours, one six), but the last Sri Lankan wicket fell with their score on 250 off 85.1 overs, giving England a resounding victory by 211 runs.
Rangana Herath ended his distinguished Test career face down in the dirt, needlessly run out going for a second run.
Ali (4-69) took the key wickets of Mathews and Karunaratne and was ably backed up by Jack Leach with 3-60, while Ben Stokes (1-16) and Adil Rashid (1-54) also got among the wickets.
The second Test starts on Wednesday in Kandy.
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
